“I have held two hearings to date and have modified the discipline in several respects based on my recent meetings with the players,” Goodell said. To bring this matter to a prompt and fair conclusion I have appointed former NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue to serve as the hearing officer for the upcoming appeals. Paul Tagliabue is a genuine football authority whose tenure as commissioner was marked by his thorough and judicious approach to all matters. He has many years of experience in NFL collective bargaining matters and an impeccable reputation for integrity.

“To be clear, I have not consulted with Paul Tagliabue at any point about the Saints matter, nor has he been any part of the process. Furthermore, under our process the hearing officer has full authority and complete independence to decide the appeal and determine any procedural issues regarding the hearings. I will have no role in the upcoming hearings or in Mr. Tagliabue’s decisions.”

Goodell’s decision was at least a partial victory for the four players who have appealed their punishments—Jonathan Vilma, Will Smith, Anthony Hargrove and Scott Fujita. The players thought it was unfair that Goodell, the same person who suspended them, was also overseeing the appeals process.

The players should welcome the fact that at least Tagliabue has never ruled on the bounty case, feeling he will be more impartial than Goodell.

Tagliabue, who will make his decision sometime after the Oct. 30 hearing, was NFL commissioner from 1989-2006 and is a lawyer. For part of that time, Goodell was the league's general counsel.

Goodell said he consulted with NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith before asking Tagliabue to hear these appeals. The collective bargaining agreement with the union that was reached to end the lockout in August 2011 gave Goodell exclusive authority to hear appeals of discipline for conduct detrimental or to appoint someone to hear and decide an appeal.

Goodell periodically has appointed others to hear appeals for club fines, personal conduct suspensions and for matters concerning drug and steroid policy.

Goodell handed down the suspension in May and they took effect in July after initial appeals were rejected by Goodell. Those suspensions lasted through training camp before being vacated by a three-member appeals panel that instructed Goodell to start the disciplinary process again and clarify his reasons for suspending the players.

The suspensions were reissued by the NFL last week and promptly appealed by all four players. None of the suspensions is currently in effect because they were appealed within the framework of the NFL's labor agreement.

But all four players have asked U.S. District Judge Ginger Berrigan to throw out Goodell's disciplinary rulings on the grounds he has demonstrated bias against the players in his handling the bounty investigation. The players say Goodell violated due process rights.

In a recent court filing, the union said: "It is only a neutral (arbitrator) of unquestioned integrity who can restore public confidence in this process and mitigate the damage which the NFL's handling of 'bounty-gate' has inflicted upon the game."

Vilma also has filed a defamation lawsuit against Goodell.

"Any time we move towards a fair evaluation of the evidence it is a positive development," said Peter Ginsberg, Vilma's attorney. "Commissioner Goodell's belated recognition that he cannot possibly serve as an impartial and unbiased arbitrator is certainly a positive development. And we have enormous respect for Paul Tagliabue.

"Having said that, we now need to learn whether Commissioner Tagliabue plans to provide to us the fundamental rights that Commissioner Goodell ignored, including the right to examine the accusers and to see the evidence, and also we need to consider that Commissioner Tagliabue is counsel to the law firm representing Commissioner Goodell in Jonathan's defamation lawsuit, as well as representing the NFL in Jonathan's challenge to the entire process in this matter."